03 05AU Evolution of the Daleks
by NewDrWhoFan
Summary: It's "Evolution of the Daleks" with Rose... 10Rose.
1. EX TER MI WAIT

Series 3 AU with Rose! This is a sequel to my stories, "The Girl in the Stalking Spaceship", "Age of Bronze", "Lantern Extinguished", "Gravity Schmavity", "Love and Monsters", "Show Her, Tell Her", "Ghost of a Chance", "Doomsday Averted", "Runaway Bride", "The Smiths and Miss Jones", "The Shakespeare Code", "Gridlock", and "Daleks In Manhattan".

This is not a _complete_ rewrite, but should be more than just re-watching the episode with Rose.

Thanks much to GSRgirlforever for beta'ing!

Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise, I don't own Doctor Who. Nor do I get anything from writing these stories--except wonderful, constructive reviews! Wink, wink; nudge, nudge ;)

--

Chapter 1, Ex-term-i--Wait

The Doctor watched Dalek Sec look over the group of prisoners.

"These humans will become like me," Sec declared.

As the other Daleks and pig-men moved in, the Doctor stepped back with Rose, hiding behind some machinery.

"Got a plan?" Rose asked quietly.

"Oh, plans are overrated," he whispered. The Doctor looked over the various pipes, machines, and--"As a matter of fact," he told Rose, picking up a radio, "I have." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "I'll distract them, you make sure the way's clear back into the tunnel, alright?"

He looked hard at her, hoping she wouldn't give him an argument just now. Fortunately, she nodded, and slipped away.

The Doctor turned on the radio, then stepped out from his hiding spot once he'd gained the Daleks' attention.

--

Rose moved quickly to the door, relieved to find it wasn't locked.

She looked back to the Doctor and felt her throat constrict as she watched him stride calmly out in front of the Daleks. She couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but she was amazed to see that Dalek Sec was apparently holding the other Daleks off from exterminating the Doctor.

After a few moments' discussion, however, the Doctor aimed his screwdriver at the radio. It emitted a high-pitched wail, causing Sec to grasp his head in pain.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted at the prisoners.

Without orders from the Daleks who were moving to protect Sec, the pig-men stood idle while the prisoners ran towards Rose.

"This way!" she shouted, throwing the doors open and leading the way into the tunnel.

Martha and Frank were quickly at her side. "You know the way?" Rose asked Martha as they ran. A junction was coming up, and Rose had no clue which way to turn.

"I was kinda hoping you did," Martha admitted.

Rose skidded to a halt at the junction, but the Doctor suddenly appeared at her side, taking her hand and pulling her to the left. "Come on! Move, move, move, move, move!" he encouraged the group behind them.

As they turned the next corner, Rose was startled to see Tallulah. "What're you doin' down here still?" Rose asked.

"What's happened to Lazlo?" was her only reply, as she looked over the former prisoners running towards her.

"Just run!" the Doctor told her.

Rose glanced back, and realized she couldn't see Lazlo, either. He had been with the pig-men guards. Had he stayed behind?

A few turns later, the Doctor had led them to a ladder. He sent Rose up first with the sonic to open the cover in case it was locked. "Come on, everyone up!" she heard him shout from below.

The cover was open, and Rose climbed quickly out into the cold night air. She helped everyone up after her, until the Doctor finally emerged. He accepted the sonic back, welding the manhole cover in place.

"Can't they still get through that?" Rose asked as they walked quickly away towards the group now huddled on the sidewalk.

"Could, but I'm hoping not," the Doctor told her. "Their power cells have got to be nearly drained. I doubt they could even fly in their current state."

He led her to the head of the group, where they happily greeted Frank and Martha more properly. Then the Doctor took in their surroundings. "Hooverville . . . this way?" he said, then marched the group off towards the park.

--

Martha warmed her hands at the fire, while the Doctor tried to convince the Hooverville residents to disperse.

"I'm sorry, Solomon," the Doctor said. "You've got to scatter. Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state, just get out of New York."

"There's got to be a way to reason with these things," Solomon protested.

Martha shook her head, remembering the proudly inhuman responses she'd gotten from the Daleks. "There's not a chance," she told him.

"You ain't seen 'em, boss," Frank told Solomon.

Martha glanced up at the Doctor and Rose. To her surprise, they didn't agree with her as readily as she'd expected. But after an indecipherable look passed between them, the Doctor turned back to the group.

"Daleks are bad enough at any time, but right now they're vulnerable, and that makes them more dangerous than ever," he said.

Before Solomon could reply, a shout rose up from the perimeter. "They're coming! They're coming!"

"A sentry," Solomon explained. "Must have seen something."

Martha got to her feet as a man came running into the circle around the fire. "They're here! I seen 'em!" he exclaimed. "Monsters! They're monsters!"

Tallulah gave a slight whimper at the announcement of "monsters".

"It's started," was all the Doctor said.

"We need to get out of the park," said Martha, turning to face him.

"Which way are they comin' from?" Rose asked the sentry.

"They're on all sides," the Doctor answered for him. He was looking at the surrounding tree line. "They're driving people back towards us."

Tallulah moved closer to the fire. "We're trapped," she said, staring out into the darkness.

"Then we stand together," said Solomon, proudly. "Gather 'round."

A few shots were fired at the surrounding pig-men, as the Hooverville residents were pressed into a tight circle around the fire.

"If we can just hold them off till daylight--" Martha began.

"Oh, Martha," said the Doctor. "They're just the foot soldiers."

Martha saw him staring up at the sky, and turned to see what he was looking at.

Two Daleks had appeared, heading right towards them.

"Not completely drained, then," Rose said from behind her.

"What in this world . . ." Solomon trailed off.

Suddenly, the Daleks opened fire on the settlement, destroying the surrounding shacks and whomever happened to be in their way.

"The hu-mans will sur-ren-der," the first Dalek ordered.

The Doctor pushed his way into the open, Rose at his side. "Leave them alone!" he ordered. "They've done nothing to you!"

"We have located the Doctor!" announced the second Dalek.

"And the destroyer of the Emperor!" the first added. He trained his weapon on Rose and the Doctor. "I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemies," he gloated.

"No!" shouted Martha, but the Daleks ignored her. She saw the Doctor try to push Rose behind him, but she still held onto his arm.

"Ex-ter-min--" the Dalek began, but then unaccountably paused. "I do not un-der-stand," he said, as if to himself. "It is the Doc-tor."

The Doctor looked at Rose, then back at the group. Martha felt as confused as he seemed.

"The urge to kill is too strong," the Dalek said, but then, as if struggling with the words, said, "I . . . o-bey."

The Doctor shouted up to the Daleks, "What's going on?"

"You will fol-low," the Dalek instructed him.

Martha closed her mouth, realizing it had dropped open in her astonishment. They hadn't killed him. After all the Doctor had told her about the Daleks in the Time War . . . .

The Doctor turned to Rose. "Rose--" he began, but she cut him off.

"Don't even try," she said, evenly.

Martha realized he meant to go with them, they both did. "No! You can't go!" she said.

"We've got to go," the Doctor told her.

Solomon stepped up next to her. "They're killers, you said," he argued with the Doctor. "Look what they've done here, already."

"The Daleks just changed their minds," the Doctor replied. "Daleks _never_ change their minds."

"But what about us?" Martha asked.

The Doctor turned back to the Daleks. "One condition!" he told them. "If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here! Do you hear me?"

After a pause, the first Dalek agreed. "The hu-mans will be spared. Fol-low."

The two made to do just that, when Martha stepped up beside them, not really knowing what she could do, but wanting to help. "Then I'm coming with you," she announced.

The Doctor turned to her. "Martha, stay here," he urged her, quietly. "Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let us go."

She watched as they strode off after the Daleks. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Solomon beside her.

Martha wondered if she'd ever see those two again. As if reading her mind, Rose called over her shoulder, "We'll be back."

--

To be continued.

Hmm. Solomon's alive with Martha and Tallulah in Hooverville . . . and they haven't got any psychic paper. What's going to happen next?


	2. What Makes a Dalek

Chapter 2, What Makes a Dalek

Solomon turned to Martha as soon as the Daleks and their two prisoners had disappeared from sight. "So what do we do first, Doctor Jones?"

"Doctor?" asked Tallulah. "You're a physician?"

Martha nodded.

"Really?" Tallulah asked.

"I was trainin'," Martha explained. "Still am, if I ever get back home."

She turned a circle to survey the damage to the settlement. "Risk of loss of life, limb or eyesight, or undue suffering," she murmured to herself, trying to call up triage procedures.

"What was that?" asked Solomon.

She shook her head. "Nothin'. We'll start by gettin' the walking wounded situated here, around the fire. Then spread out and search for anyone else that needs help."

Solomon immediately gave instructions to those standing nearby.

"I could use some shelter, so I'm not treatin' folks in the open," she said when he gave her his attention again. "And clean bandages. We can just boil strips of cloth if we have to--"

"I can help with that," Tallulah volunteered.

"And we can set you up here," said Solomon, indicating a tent near the fire that hadn't been targeted by the Daleks.

Martha saw that already space was being made to allow the wounded to sit near the fire, the first victims approaching cradling bleeding arms, or hobbling on injured legs.

"Let's get to work," Martha said, crouching next to the nearest injured man to examine his wound.

--

The Doctor and Rose were being led through the sewers, one Dalek ahead, one behind, and pig-men on either side.

"You think it's 'cause of Sec?" Rose asked in a whisper. She had been just as surprised as the Doctor by the Dalek's sudden change of heart.

"It's what the Cult of Skaro was originally meant to do," the Doctor answered, his voice equally hushed. "Find new ways of thinking. If Dalek Sec really has merged with a human, well, who knows?"

"But ya don't think he's, I dunno, turned good?" Rose asked, the question sounding strange to her own ears.

The Doctor scoffed. "We may have been spared," he said, "but they certainly weren't showing any concern for Hooverville before we were spotted. And these," he nodded at the Dalek ahead of them, "they still seem the same."

As if on cue, the rear Dalek ordered, "The pris-on-ers will be SI-LENT!"

Rose felt the Doctor tighten his grip on her hand as they neared the door to the main cavern.

They were led before Dalek Sec.

The Doctor's few moments of enforced silence seemed to have compounded his anger, as he burst out, "Those people were defenseless! You only wanted us, but no, that wasn't enough for you! You had to start killing 'cause that's the only thing a Dalek's good for!"

"The deaths were wrong," Sec answered him, calmly.

"Come again?" said Rose.

"I'm sorry?" asked the Doctor, simultaneously.

"They stood together," Sec replied. "They showed courage."

"And that's good?" the Doctor clarified, obviously taken aback.

"That's excellent," declared Sec.

"Is it me," asked the Doctor, "or are you just becoming a little bit more human?"

"You are the last of your kind," he told the Doctor, "and now I am the first of mine."

--

Rose watched and listened as Sec explained his plan.

What it seemed to boil down to, was that a giant solar flare was going to hit the Empire State Building (which they were now underneath, apparently). The entire building was going to act as an energy converter, conductor, lightning rod thing, zapping the thousands of mostly-dead humans with gamma rays, Frankenstein-ing them into mini Dalek Secs. She still didn't know why he wanted the two of them.

Neither did the Doctor, it seemed. "I still don't know what you need us for," he said.

To her surprise, Sec turned to Rose. "You destroyed the Emperor?" She nodded. "You can help make these new Daleks impervious."

"Su-ure," she told him, glancing at the Doctor.

"And you Doctor," Sec continued, "your genius. Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts."

"But you're the template," the Doctor told him. "I thought they were getting a dose of you."

"I want to change the gene sequence," Sec answered.

"To make them even more human? You wouldn't be the supreme beings anymore," said the Doctor.

"And that is good," Sec answered.

"That is in-cor-rect," one of the Daleks interjected, causing Rose to jump slightly. She and the Doctor stepped back as another Dalek rolled forward.

"Da-leks are su-preme," it declared.

Sec turned towards the other Daleks. "No, not anymore," he told them.

"But that is our pur-pose," argued the second Dalek.

"Then our purpose is wrong!" Sec told them, forcefully. "Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this. Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now, then we deserve extinction."

The Daleks quieted. The Doctor stepped nearer to Sec. "So, you want to change _everything_ that makes a Dalek a Dalek," he clarified quietly. Sec nodded.

Rose looked at the other Daleks, barely restrained by Sec's impassioned speech. "There's no way this lot are gonna let you do it," she said.

"I am their leader," Sec told her, confidently.

The Doctor asked the other Daleks, "And that's enough for you, is it?"

"Da-leks must fol-low or-ders," confirmed one.

"Da-lek Sec com-mands, we ob-ey," another answered.

"If you don't help me," Sec pleaded with the Doctor, "nothing will change."

Only a moment passed, but Rose could see the Doctor weighing the possibilities and every one of his options.

"When's that solar flare?" the Doctor asked, at last.

"Eleven minutes," Sec informed him.

The Doctor clapped his hands. "Right, then. Better get to work."

--

The Doctor set Rose to work on something obviously unnecessary, but she was grateful. If the Daleks thought they needed her alive, she had no complaints.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Dalek Sec were working at a feverish pace to alter the human Daleks.

When the pig slaves were ordered to bring in a component for the experiment, Rose was surprised and relieved to spot Lazlo among them. The Doctor had noticed him, too, she saw.

"What's gonna happen to the pig slaves after all this?" She asked.

"Nothing," Sec answered. "They're just simple beasts," he said, dismissively. Rose saw Lazlo duck his head at that comment, obviously within earshot. "Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks."

Rose looked to the Doctor.

"I can't undo what they've done to him," he told her, quietly, "but they won't do it to anyone else."

Rose nodded as he turned back to his work.

After only a few more moments' work, buttons were pushed, levers were thrown, and the Doctor and Sec watched triumphantly as the line feeds were activated.

Suddenly, a klaxon began sounding, accompanied by red warning lights.

"What's goin' on?" Rose asked, shouting over the noise.

The Doctor moved to check the equipment as Sec turned to the other Daleks. "Is there a malfunction?" Sec asked.

No response.

"Answer me!" he commanded.

"No, no, no! The gene feed!" the Doctor announced. "They're overriding the gene feed!"

"Impossible," Sec told him. "They cannot disobey orders."

The Doctor moved towards the controls to rectify the situation, but a Dalek intercepted him, holding him at laser-point. He quickly raised his hands and backed away.

"The Doc-tor will step a-way from the con-trols," it ordered.

"So much for that theory," Rose muttered, as another Dalek raised its weapon to her.

"Stop!" Sec commanded. "You will not fire."

"They are en-e-mies of the Daleks," announced the Dalek by Rose.

"And so are you," the third Dalek informed him, aiming his weapon at Sec.

"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec," he replied.

"You have lost your au-thor-i-ty," the Dalek told him.

"You are no long-er a Da-lek," said the Dalek nearest the Doctor.

"The new bo-dies will be one hun-dred per-cent Da-lek," declared the third Dalek. "Pig slaves, re-strain Da-lek Sec and the oth-ers."

Two pig-men moved to Dalek Sec, and one to the Doctor.

Lazlo took Rose's arm. A gun of some kind was slung over his shoulder.

The Daleks turned away from their captives to make the final preparations for the experiment. As soon as their backs were turned, Lazlo released Rose and shot the pig slave holding the Doctor. At that moment, the lift bell pinged.

"There's the elevator," said Lazlo.

"After you," said the Doctor, snatching Rose's hand as they dodged the remaining guards.

"The prisoners are escaping!" came the cries of the Daleks behind them. "Stop them! Stop them!"

But they were safe inside the lift before any of the pig-men could reach the doors.

"Going up," said the Doctor, punching the button for the top floor. "We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the earth," he said, turning from the lift doors. "We need to get to the top of the building."

Lazlo was leaning heavily against the side of the lift, panting.

Rose moved to support him. "Lazlo, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Out of breath," Lazlo told her. "It's nothing. We've escaped them. That's all that matters."

"Thanks for that, by the way," she told him.

Lazlo gave her a weak smile.

Rose turned to the Doctor, but the look on his face was not encouraging.

--

To be continued.


	3. The End of the Daleks?

Chapter 3, The End of the Daleks?

The Doctor couldn't help it. He was bouncing nervously on his toes, counting down--or up--the floors as the lift climbed.

Eleven minutes until the gamma strike from when they'd started working on the genetic splicing. One minute, forty-six seconds of that; thirty-eight seconds of being held prisoner (again); two minutes, fourteen seconds in the lift . . . .

The bell dinged, the doors opened, and the Doctor raced out onto the top floor.

He took in the scene before him: papers, piping, the end of the room open to the scaffolding outside.

"Rose," he called back as he moved towards what appeared to be blueprints, "wedge the lift doors open, would you?"

"Got it," she answered.

He gathered the pages, then started scanning them.

"Whatcha lookin' for?" Rose asked, once she'd helped Lazlo over to the table where the Doctor was working.

He answered without looking up at her. "Even with the chromatin solution, a pure gamma strike would still destroy all the would-be Daleks. The energy converter itself has to contain elements of the Daleks, specifically the Dalekanium panels that were missing from their battle armor," he explained, shuffling the pages as he spoke. "And since the Daleks only made their move on the building at large a few days ago, the Dalekanium was probably added along with the newest construction."

He flipped between two diagrams, the most recent having been issued earlier that day. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed. "There it is, on the mast. Last-minute change to add the Dalekanium to the top of the tower." Another mental calculation . . . "Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits."

He moved quickly out to the edge of the floor, overlooking the city. "Oh, that's high. That's very--blimey, that's high." He really liked to tell himself that heights didn't affect him, but in the dark, with the bitter wind . . . .

"And we've got to go even higher?" asked Rose. "Nice."

Just then, Lazlo collapsed against a pillar.

Rose was at his side in an instant. "Lazlo? What is it?"

He tried to stand, but slumped back to the floor. "No, it's nothing," he said, waving her off. "I'm fine. Just leave me."

Rose put her hand to his forehead. "He's burnin' up," she said, turning to the Doctor.

The seconds were slipping away from him. "Stay with him," the Doctor told her, moving to climb the scaffolding. "I can handle this."

At Rose's nod, he ascended the scaffolding. The wind seemed to be picking up, and a nearly freezing rain was beginning to fall.

After almost losing his footing twice, he climbed up onto the top platform. He moved to the mast, holding on for dear life with one arm. With the other, he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and began un-welding the bolts holding the Dalekanium panels in place.

One panel down, he shifted around to work on the next. Halfway through, the sonic slipped from his chilled fingers, falling right over the edge of the platform. He nearly dove after it, but looking down, saw that it was gone.

--

Rose glanced up, hearing a distinctive metallic _clang_ from outside on the scaffolding. "I'll be right back," she told Lazlo, as she climbed to her feet.

She knew that sound. On board the TARDIS, it would usually be followed by some sort of shout or a string of untranslated curses. Sure enough, looking up into the scaffolding, Rose spotted the sonic screwdriver lying several feet above her head. The Doctor must have dropped it.

She stepped back into the room. "Lazlo, I've gotta go help the Doctor--" she began.

"Go," he immediately told her. "I'll be alright. We've got to stop them."

At his encouragement, she stepped back out onto the scaffolding and began the climb.

--

The Doctor tried to pull the panel free with his bare hands, knowing it was useless, but desperate enough to try anything.

"Looth zumfin'?" a voice called, barely audible above the howling wind.

He turned and saw a blonde head just poking up over the edge of the platform, the sonic clenched in her teeth.

"Rose!" he shouted, moving cautiously over the now slick platform to help her up over the edge.

He tried to take the sonic from her when she held it out, but his hand was too numb to close around it.

"You're almost frozen!" she said, then moved to the base of the mast. "Here, what settin'?" she asked him.

They set to work, Rose sonic'ing the bolts, and the Doctor helping to pry the panels free. At last, the final panel was removed.

Time was up.

"Now, go, Rose!" the Doctor told her. "The gamma strike is going to hit any sec--"

Lightning struck the mast, sending them both flying nearly right over the platform's edge.

--

Rose hadn't been gone even a minute, when Lazlo saw the pipe begin to slip from the lift doors. He tried to move towards it, but watched it quickly twist out of place, allowing the lift doors to close. Immediately, the lift began to descend.

He crawled back to the scaffolding.

"Rose!" he shouted. "Rose! Doctor! The elevator!"

But there was no response. The storm was drawing nearer, probably drowning out his call.

Resolving to at least provide them with some defense, he crawled towards the lift, propping himself against a nearby pillar so that he would have a clear shot if the lift should return.

--

"--Cond. Any second," the Doctor said, coming to. "Rose?"

He opened his eyes. He was still on the platform, at the base of the mast. He sat up, instantly spotting Rose, unconscious, lying to his left.

To his relief, she awoke at just a slight touch. "What happened?" she asked as he helped her to sit.

"We did it!" he told her, glancing back at the mast to reassure himself that the Dalekanium had, indeed, been removed. "Thanks to you," he added, pulling her into a hug.

"Welcome," she said, into his shoulder.

He released her, and reached for the sonic, but she withheld it.

"Forget it," she told him, before he could ask. "You dropped it, you can wait 'til we're back at the TARDIS to get your spare."

"What?"

"I know you've got an extra," she said. "I was there when you got 'em, remember?"

The Doctor was dumbfounded.

"This would ha' been a whole lot less last-minute if I'd had my own, don't ya think?" she added, before climbing over the edge of the platform and disappearing down the scaffolding.

The Doctor followed in disbelief.

--

To be continued.


	4. Last of the Daleks

Chapter 4, Last of the Daleks

The climb down the scaffolding was even more difficult than the ascent, Rose found. The freezing rain and the howling wind, not to mention their close call with the lightning, were not exactly helpful.

At long last, she and the Doctor were safely back on the top floor. Rose swatted the Doctor's hand away with a smile as he tried ineffectually to pull the sonic screwdriver from her jeans pocket.

The smile disappeared from her face, however, when she saw that Lazlo had gone. "Lazlo?" she called.

Just as she spotted him further in the room, the Doctor said, "the lift."

To her horror, Rose saw that the doors had somehow closed. She glanced to the counter as they ran to Lazlo, noticing it was climbing up past floor eighty-five.

"Stay back, both of you," Lazlo gasped as they neared. "If they send pig slaves, they're trained to kill."

"Lazlo--" the Doctor tried, but Lazlo cut him off.

"You said it yourself, Doctor. You can't undo what the Daleks have done." To them or to Lazlo, thought Rose. He'd heard. "They're savages," he went on. "I should know. They're trained to slit your throat with their bare teeth."

Despite the chill wind from the storm outside, Rose could see Lazlo sweating, straining to stay upright.

The lift bell dinged. "Get back," Lazlo told them once more, leveling his Dalek-made weapon at the doors.

Before Rose could argue, the Doctor pulled her around behind the pillar.

It seemed Lazlo had been right about the Daleks sending pig-men. Their squeals quickly turned to screams as Lazlo fired.

Almost as soon as the battle had begun, it seemed it was over. The three of them were still alive, as silence fell.

But into that silence, a cold voice spoke.

"The Doc-tor and the wo-man will stand be-fore the Da-leks."

So, not just pig slaves, thought Rose.

She couldn't help a bit of cheek as she summoned her courage and stepped forward beside the Doctor. "It's not 'the woman', it's 'Rose', thanks," she said.

Two Daleks appeared, gliding out of the lift, driving Dalek Sec before them, chained and walking on all fours.

The Dalek on the right looked at her and said, "The Rose will be si-lent." Well, at least they listen. "You both will die," it continued. "It is the be-gin-ning of a new age."

"Pla-net earth will be-come New Ska-ro," the Dalek on the left declared.

"Oh, and what a world," the Doctor replied. "With anything just the _slightest_ bit different ground into the dirt," he practically spat. He pointed at the hybrid Dalek on the floor in front of them. "That's Dalek Sec," he said. "Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever, and look what you've done to him. Is that your new empire? Hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"

Sec himself kneeled upright, addressing his captors. "My Daleks, just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."

"In-cor-rect," said the first Dalek. "We will al-ways sur-vive."

"Now," the second Dalek announced, "we will de-stroy our great-est en-e-my, the Doc-tor."

Rose glanced at the Doctor, grasping his hand. She looked quickly to Lazlo. He still held the gun, but they and Sec were between Lazlo and the Daleks.

Sec pleaded with the Daleks. "But he can help you."

"The Doc-tor must die," the first Dalek agreed, as both aimed their weapons at him.

"No, I beg you, don't," said Sec.

He stood, just as the second Dalek cried, "Ex-ter-min-ate!"

Sec fell dead at their feet.

"Your own leader!" the Doctor chastised them, taking the opportunity to pull Rose back a few paces. "The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him."

Rose watched them re-train their weapons on him, ignoring his protests. "Ex-term--" began the first Dalek, but then it suddenly exploded.

The Doctor had pulled Rose back far enough to give Lazlo a clear shot.

As the second Dalek swiveled to face Lazlo, it too was destroyed.

The Doctor moved quickly forward to Sec, but hung his head as soon as he touched him.

Rose stepped over to Lazlo, who let his gun fall to his side. "Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed," Lazlo said as she stooped beside him. "One of the Dalek masters must still be alive."

The Doctor stood, but didn't turn towards them as he replied, "Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one."

Rose watched the Doctor until he snapped out of his thoughts and moved over to her and Lazlo.

"How're you doing?" the Doctor asked him.

"We're alive," Lazlo said.

Rose nodded. "Thanks to you, again." She turned to the Doctor. "But he's still burnin' up," she said.

The Doctor hesitated just a moment, before reaching out to help pull Lazlo to his feet. "First things first," he said, leading the way to the lift. "Going down."

--

The Doctor thought things over from a thousand different angles as the lift descended. Rose's eyes didn't leave him, but he was grateful that she kept silent.

One part of his mind rejoiced over the thought, _two more down, one to go_. The last of the Daleks. The real end of the Time War.

But he'd thought so before.

Still, what choice did he have? The others weren't convinced, even by Dalek Sec.

He looked briefly at the gun, now slung over Rose's shoulder as she supported Lazlo.

The last of the Daleks. The last of its kind, just as the Doctor was the last of his own.

As the lift came to a halt, he met Rose's eyes. She made to unsling the gun, but he shook his head. He turned as the lift doors opened, and strode out into the basement cavern.

He had to give it a chance.

--

Rose helped Lazlo discretely follow the Doctor. When they caught up to him, keeping hidden behind the machinery, Rose saw an all too familiar sight. The Doctor was standing, unarmed, before a Dalek with its weapon aimed at him.

"Dalek Caan," she heard the Doctor saying. "Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated. Leaving only you. Right now you're facing the only man in the universe who might show you some compassion."

Rose couldn't help the mental comparison between this Doctor and the one in the underground alien museum . . . how long ago, now?

"'Cause I've just stopped one attempted genocide," he continued. "I won't cause another. Caan…let me help you. What do you say?

Its only response was, "E-mer-gen-cy Tem-por-al Shift!" as it disappeared from sight.

Before Rose could say a word to the Doctor, Lazlo collapsed against her side. She helped him down to the floor. "Doctor!" she called, noticing Lazlo's rapid, shallow breathing. His eyes were closed tightly as if he were in pain.

The Doctor came quickly to her side, reaching out a hand to Lazlo's neck. "Pulse is racing," he said.

"It's time," Lazlo managed between wheezing breaths. "None of the slaves . . . survive for long," he panted. "I was lucky. Held on . . . for Tallulah. But now . . . she's safe."

Rose shook her head. "You're not dyin'," she told him. "Not now, after all this." She looked up at the Doctor, hoping he could prove her right. He was staring, unseeing at Lazlo. "Doctor, can't you do somethin'?" she asked.

He seemed to snap back to the present, and stood, taking off his overcoat. "Oh, Rose, just you watch me. What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one," he said, looking around at the equipment.

"Lazlo, just you hold on," he said, as he began to run about the lab, already mixing up a solution. "There've been too many deaths today," he said as he worked. "Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and age-old enemies. And I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you right now, I am not having one more death! Got that? Not one!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stethoscope.

"The Doctor is in."

--

For probably the first time since she had begun her internship, Martha Jones was glad of the ridiculously long hours she'd had to pull in the hospital. It was dawn, and she was only just now finishing up with the last of the less seriously injured Hooverville residents.

As she tied the bandage around the man's hand, she could hear some sort of commotion from outside the tent. Suddenly, Tallulah's head appeared at the entrance.

"They're here!" Tallulah said. "The Doctor's back!"

She vanished as quickly as she'd come.

Martha followed her patient out of the tent, and then looked around to see where Tallulah had gone. She joined her beside the fire, watching as the Doctor, Rose, and a third individual in an overcoat and hat approached.

"Lazlo?" Tallulah breathed. Then, with a shouted, "Lazlo!" she ran forward and embraced the man beside the Doctor.

Martha smiled, but instead of running up to greet the newcomers, she sat heavily on a crate and waited for them.

--

Solomon shook Lazlo's hand, welcoming him to Hooverville. "We'll give you a home, Lazlo," Solomon told him. "I mean, don't imagine people ain't gonna stare," he added, but Lazlo just chuckled. "I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for, people who ain't got nowhere else."

"Thank you," Lazlo told him, his arm around Tallulah's waist. "I--I can't thank you enough."

He turned to Martha, Rose, and the Doctor.

"And thank you," Lazlo told them. "We'll never forget you."

--

Rose and the Doctor filled Martha in on all that had happened with the Daleks in her absence as they took the ferry back to Liberty Island.

"I'm sorry," Martha said, as the ferry landed and they stepped ashore.

"What for?" asked the Doctor.

"That the Dalek got away," she said. "I know what that means to you."

He just shrugged as they walked towards the TARDIS.

They stopped to get one last look at the Manhattan skyline. Martha asked, "Do you reckon it's gonna work, those two? Lazlo an' Tallulah?" The Doctor had explained how he'd only managed to extend Lazlo's life, but that the half-pig transformation was permanent.

"I don't know," he answered, lightly. "Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York, that's what this city's good at," he said, gesturing towards the city with his and Rose's joined hands. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig-slave-Dalek-mutant-hybrid too."

They all laughed.

"Pig-slave-Dalek-mutant-hybrid, huh?" asked Rose.

"The pig and the showgirl," Martha mused.

"The pig and the showgirl," the Doctor replied, smiling.

Those two are just too cute, Martha thought, watching him and Rose standing in the ocean breeze, gently swinging their hands between them, their _pretend_ wedding rings glinting in the sun. "Just proves it, I suppose" she offered. "There's someone for everyone."

"Maybe," the Doctor answered, leading them back to the TARDIS with a grin.

**--**

The end.

More to come in "The Lazarus Experiment".


End file.
